The Witch's Ward
by SakuraLetters
Summary: Because of him, I am an orphan. Because of him, I knew hatred too soon. So, I will kill him. With you as my witness, I shall kill Kaname Kuran with my bare hands." Future, AU, Zeki hints, character death


Hi y'all! This is SakuraLetters coming at ya live from my computer! This is my first ever fanfic, and so far I'm pleased with how it's turning out. The story you're about to read was inspired by a book my cousin's working on. Granted, I've changed a few things and twisted it to work for Vampire Knight, but the basic gist is mostly hers. **Vampire Knight does not, in any particular way, belong to me.** If it did, then Zero and Yuki would be dating and Kaname would be dead 'cause he's a manipulative jerkface! Anywho, enjoy!

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Cold…so cold…and dark…I'm afraid.

I think my hands hurt, but I can't feel them very well. There's something large and cold around my wrists, but I can't be certain. This place is so cold, I'm afraid I'm losing myself. What did Mommy call it—?

Mommy!

Daddy!

Where are they? We were still together before the blackness took me over. Daddy was smiling before the mean men in suits broke into our small home in the mountains. Mommy screamed when they came, and Daddy started shouting. Mommy drew me close to her, so close that I could hear her frantically beating heart.

Mommy was scared.

Gunshots…more screams…then…nothing.

What happened? Where are Mommy and Daddy? Where am I?

The door suddenly slams open, bright light pours into the room. The sudden change in lighting hurts my eyes so that I can't see. I'm being grabbed by large, strong, delicate hands. Male hands. My eyes adjust and I can see. The hands are pale, I'm in chains, the men who grabbed me are in suits, and are also pale.

These men are vampires. They are also the ones who broke into my home.

Where are they taking me?

Why am I in chains?

"You want to see your daddy, little girl?"

Daddy? My heart feels hope, and I'm certain my eyes show it. I look at my captors; they don't seem to be misleading…

"Ye-yes." My throat hurts. What happened?

One vampire has messy blonde hair; the other has red hair that's not quite messy, but not exactly neat. The Blonde One smiles, rather friendly, but suddenly I am scared. There is something behind that smile, something not friendly at all.

We come to a small balcony, with glass windows barring us from the outside. There is only one seat. The vampires set me down in it, never once letting go of me. The Blonde One tells me to look out the window, and I do.

There's Daddy! But…he's bleeding…and in chains…and he looks so weak…but there is something in his eyes, I think Mommy called it a spark. He's not broken, and I breathe a soft sigh of relief.

Then another vampire comes out, one with brown hair, and a strange look on his face. Then I see it, and my heart stops.

That vampire has a gun.

He says something, I can't understand thanks to the distance, but I see Daddy's reaction and know that whatever it was, it was not pleasant.

The brown haired vampire raises the gun, and I can't breathe. He says something, pulls the trigger, and Daddy falls to the ground.

I can't breathe. I can't hear my heart beat. Am I still alive? Or did I die with Daddy?

"Da…dy…"

My heart beats again, and my brain forces my lungs to work. But I am not me. I am scared. I am angry. That vampire just murdered my daddy!

"Who is he?" My voice no longer trips, and is soft with hidden rage.

"That is the pureblood, Kuran Kaname-sama."

That was the name Daddy hated beyond all reason. Mommy never spoke it, and Daddy would freeze if he ever heard it. I knew Daddy hated that name, because I was a bad girl once and spied on Mommy and Daddy when I should have been in my bed, sleeping.

I reacted.

There was no thinking, no planning, I just lost my mind.

Every scrap of power within me, power I didn't even know I had, came out. I was beyond angry. Kuran Kaname had murdered my father, and I was going to make him pay. Everyone who got in my way would find that, until the moment I struck them down, they did not know what true rage was.

I must have frightened my captors, as the redhead said he had never seen so much hate in a single child, let alone just a peaceful four-year-old. Before they know what hit them, they were dust at my feet. Mommy always said I was born under a powerful star. Then again, the vampires weren't expecting this strong a reaction.

Then there is rubble, the ceiling has broken and with it, much of the wall ahead of me. The cold stifles my anger, and I rush outside to freedom. Suddenly, there is a beautiful snowy white owl above me. It cannot be a normal bird, it is too large, too beautiful, to be of natural making.

"Are you the child, Kiryu Aya?"

I numbly nod; the cold is starting to consume me again. The owl dives to me and snatches me up in his talons. He throws me into the air, but catches me on his back mere moments after I left his claws.

"Hold on, we shall arrive in a bit, as the winds are in my favor."

I didn't bother to ask him where we would arrive, but simply buried myself in his feathers, desperate for the warmth he possesses. My eyelids grow heavy, and I slip once more into darkness.

* * *

When my eyes open again, I am on a soft bed, and am warm for the first time since I was taken from my home.

"Ah, you have returned to us. We were beginning to worry."

That voice is soft, and perfect, and feminine. It is also familiar, but I don't know where I've last heard it. I look up, and see the owner of that beautiful voice: a painfully beautiful woman in a black silk dress. The white owl that saved me sat perched on her shoulder, gazing at me curiously with round golden eyes.

"Who…who are you?"

The woman smiled, a pretty, pale smile that made her rainwater eyes sparkle a little. "I am the witch queen, Ingrid Erickson. This forest and all witches in it are under my jurisdiction. And you, my dear child, are Aya Kiryu, the only daughter of the hunter-turned-vampire Zero Kiryu and the pureblood vampire Yuuki Kuran, although when she brought you into this world, she was a seemingly human girl named Yuuki Cross."

I blinked, this witch knew who my parents were, even knew about my mother's double identity. Was she friend, or foe?

"Fear not, young Aya. I am no enemy of yours. You are a child, still young and innocent to the cruel ways of the world. If I were human, I would be crying for you. So young, and you are now an orphan. Is the world so cruel that it would deny a four-year-old the love and security of her parents?"

"Just purebloods," I said, spitting the last word as if it were poison.

"Tell me, young Aya, what is your wish?"

Before this night, I had no wish other than being exactly were I was: in the loving and warm happiness of my home, with the tender love of my parents. Now that was all gone, and I had but one wish. So, I voiced it, hate and rage lacing every syllable.

"My wish is to kill Kaname Kuran with my bare hands."

Ingrid smiled a sad, knowing smile. "Revenge is your wish now? How horrid a world must be for a happy and innocent child to wake in the morning, wishing for nothing more than another day basking in the love of her parents, only for night to fall, and the same child wish for nothing more than another being's death."

I said nothing. What was there to say? She had summed up my day in one sentence.

"I am in need of an heir, Aya, and I have no children. No man at my side with which to make one. You are strong for a child, and possess all the markings of a potentially great witch, despite your obvious lack of witch blood. My wish, at the moment, is for you to train under me as my heir. None shall be able to harm you, and you will be regarded to all who lay eyes upon you as my daughter."

I accepted. What other choice did I have? She knew as well as I that I was an orphan, and probably wanted dead for the murder of those two vampires I had killed. This woman was willing to shelter and protect me. She was willingly to aid me, help me with this new power I could feel inside of me.

"Then, you will need a new name. For protection, as every vampire in Japan will be searching for Aya Kiryu, murderer of two aristocratic vampires, illegitimate daughter of the Kuran prince's dearest girl and a former human, living proof that a pureblood's will is not absolute. Under a new name, however, they loose every bit of claim they have on your life. You will be my heir, and should they kill you, every vampire in Japan will be destroyed, guilty or not. Do you agree?"

I valued my life, I was not afraid of Kaname Kuran or any other vampire. I was not afraid to live my live hunted as Aya Kiryu. However, accepting whatever name she chose would seal the deal and create a bond between us. Ingrid Erickson was a strong woman. I would be wise to accept her. So I did.

"Very well then, I believe the name Lara shall do. To Japan, you shall be known as Aya Kiryu, but to the rest of the world, you will be known as Lara Erickson, my chosen heir. Do you accept?"

"Yes, Witch Ingrid. I accept both your guidance and the name Lara."

Ingrid Erickson smiled, and, despite everything that had happened to me, I smiled back.

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Please review! Reviews make me happy! Preferably nice ones, as flames will simply be read for kicks, and then promptly ignored. Ja, mata!


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